Tracking device on bins ensures residents chip in

When Randwick City Council began replacing its 78,000
residential garbage and recycling bins last month, a resident, Dan
Himbrechts, scratched his head. Why get rid of old ones that seemed
to work perfectly well?

His suspicions grew further when he noticed a small, flat,
circular object hidden under the rim of his new bin. About the size
of a 10-cent coin, it had the letters "TI-RFid" embossed on it.

A quick Google search and Mr Himbrechts realised what he was
looking at - an electronic tracking device known as a radio
frequency identification tag.

His bin was not alone. All of Randwick's new bins have the
technology installed. The 90,000 bins in the Ryde local government
area were also fitted with them in 2006.

Both councils have waste collection contracts with WSN
Environmental Solutions, a state-owned company whose garbage trucks
are able to weigh bins as they are unloaded onto the truck.

The bin weight is then linked to residents' addresses by way of
the devices, which transmit unique identification codes to
receivers on the trucks.

The technology, which is used to manage livestock, prisoners and
cars passing through toll gates, has raised privacy concerns around
the world.

But the councils insist they are not spying on their residents'
waste habits, or planning to use the technology to increase waste
levies in the future.

They say they are using the data to help identify areas where
people are not recycling enough.

"Bin weight data will help identify average bin weights by type
and suburb. This information will also be used to develop waste
education material," a Randwick City Council spokeswoman, Alexandra
Power, said.

The technology will enable the council to collect information
about the time of bin collection and assist in contract compliance,
she said. Lost bins will be able to be identified if handed in, she
added.

"The information collected will be accessible only by the
contractor, WSN Environmental Solutions, and council. Both parties
are bound by council's privacy policy and the information will not
be used for any purposes other than those stated above," she
said.

A City of Ryde spokeswoman, Lee Kirkland, said her council's
waste management strategies had helped achieve a recycling rate of
48 per cent of its waste stream.

Other waste collection companies contacted by the Herald,
including Visy and United Resource Management, said they did not
use the devices.

Veolia Environmental Services said it had trialled them but had
chosen to run another system.